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Print version ISSN 1413-8123

Ciênc. saúde coletiva vol.13 suppl.0 Rio de Janeiro Apr. 2008

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232008000700001

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL

Medicines, professionals and health care services

In recent years, medicament utilization studies
were increasing in quantity, quality and diversity. This is not only due to
the pivotal role pharmaceuticals play in the control of some diseases but also
to the need of reviewing their utilization in the consumer societies as well
as from the perspective of how much they weigh on the family budget, especially
of the poor.

An emerging and qualifying - field of studies
and action in this context covers the interface between industry and society
represented by the commercial interests of the pharmaceutical industry on one
hand and the reaction of society to the information this industry disseminates,
be it through advertisements in the lay media, be it in congresses and in the
offices of specialists or still in form of package inserts and leaflets. The
impact this information causes becomes evident in the power the users ascribe
to medicaments, going far beyond of what clinical assays and treatment protocols
recommend and entering the cultural sphere.

In this sense, the role of physicians, pharmacists
and dentists is being studied, problemized and reexamined. Today it is accepted
that, the same way the utilization of medicaments by the population is influenced
by extra-scientific values, the behavior of the health professionals suffers
the influence of some symbolic values when deciding upon using or not pharmaceuticals
and about how to use them. However, the prominent position of the anthropological
dimension of our days apart, the creation of legal norms and regulations as
well as auditing and punishment of infringers have counted on increasing theoretical
and practical encouragement from the professionals.

The qualitative approaches aimed at explaining
the phenomena carry with them the concerns with the quality of the health services.
Therefore, for turning the formulation of these areas more efficient, one must
make use of the tools epidemiology and statistics are offering to increase the
benefits medicaments can bring and to reduce the harm they can cause. The cross-sectional
approach used in the medicine utilization studies is aimed at analyzing user
profiles and utilization patterns but also at comprehending the perception of
health professionals about consumer relations.

Rational use of medicaments is thus structured
upon multiple disciplinary spheres and requires joint efforts.

These are the subjects being approached by the
authors who contributed to this special issue. When aiming to contribute to
the design of health policies in our country, one cannot ignore problems like
drug shortage in the public health system, difficult access do essential drugs
for the poor due to prices unaffordable for them and consequently non-adherence
to the medication prescribed by a physician or dentist. Production of generic
drugs and establishment a network of pharmacies selling medicaments at affordable
prices were among the strategies employed in an effort to meet the countless
needs in this field in our country.